Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson are two of the most popular country musicians of the 20 and 21st centuries. However, in terms of their brands, they don’t match up. Dolly Parton fans are all into rhinestones and cowboy hats, whereas Willie Nelson fans typically score long hair and flannels. That being said, when Dolly Parton agreed to tour with Willie Nelson in the 1970s, her band, the fans, and Parton, in retrospect, were awfully confused.
When the 70s rolled around, Parton was trying to build the foundation of her solo career. Consequently, Parton founded a new band, and her record label believed it would be a good idea to go on the road with Willie Nelson. Ultimately, this decision didn’t go as planned. Parton, as well as the rest of her band, have been scratching their heads as to why they did it ever since. However, there is, of course, no bad blood between the two country music giants.
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Dolly Parton’s Band Didn’t Have the Best Time on Tour
The main concerns Parton and her band had with the tour included sound crew mishaps and audience attention. As a matter of fact, Dolly once stated, “I just know that I thought it would be a good idea to do some things with some people like that.”
“We had some problems with a few things — not with each other — but, like the night […] in Waco we had some sound problems and all that,” said Parton per Dolly: My Life And Other Unfinished Business. “And the crowd was different. Different for me even than they were for Willie, but they accepted us both very well.”
In addition to Dolly’s confusion, one of her band members was also perplexed. Parton’s guitarist, Don Roth, said it was “dumb” to go on the road with Nelson.
“The sound got to where it was mediocre,” said Roth. “All the way up to mediocre. But that first night, it was absurd. But the rest of the tour went about the same, as far as the crowd. We did only twenty or thirty minutes in front of Willie. We took our money and ran.”
Despite the somewhat disastrous tour, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson have remained friends. After all, it doesn’t sound like Nelson’s fault whatsoever. Rather, it just sounds like the common phenomenon of trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. Regardless, the tour must have accomplished something, as both musicians went on to have illustrious careers.
Photo by: Katherine Bomboy/NBC
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